"The Producers" and Classical Mel

[Squishy]

I absolutely hate Mel Brooks' later directorial messes--"High Anxiety" scrapes by, if I think of it as a parody of Brian De Palma as well as Alfred Hitchcock--but after that it's all dead meat. "Spaceballs" and "History of the World Part I" have a enjoyable moment or two, but "Life Stinks," "Dracula: Dead & Loving It"--bleagh. I haven't seen "Robin Hood: Men In Tights," but unless it's the odd man out on this list, I'm in no hurry.

That said, I love the older ones: "The Twelve Chairs," "Young Frankenstein," "Silent Movie," "Blazing Saddles"--and best of all, "The Producers." I'm watching L.S.D. singing his flower song on Bravo right now, and my expression matches that of Zero Mostel's every time. :) :) :) :) :)

And in a couple of weeks it's finally coming out on DVD. I can't wait, can't wait, can't freaking wait. Wahoo!  With extra scenes!

Opinions?

[Mofo Rising]

So do you place the cutoff at SPACEBALLS?  That's where I usually put it, but a lot of people I know disagree.  I think it depends which age you saw SPACEBALLS at.

I'm a pretty big fan of early Mel Brooks.  Haven't seen THE TWELVE CHAIRS.

MEN IN TIGHTS isn't very good, but DEAD AND LOVING IT is simply atrocious.  Sorry Lysette Anthony, but not even your bountiful cleavage could save this movie.

[Vermin Boy]

I recently saw The Twelve Chairs as part of a class on satire. Not as funny as some of Mel's other stuff, but still a really fun and underappreciated movie. Brooks' role was definitely the highlight. :)

And I agree on Brooks' earlier stuff. I don't mind his newer stuff as much (though I haven't seen Life Stinks, and only saw Dead and Loving It when I was fairly young), but, thinking it over, I recently came to the conclusion that, pound for pound, The Producers and especially Young Frankenstein are simply two of the funniest movies ever made. Brooks definitely should have won some sort of award for capturing the look and feel of the old Universal movies on Young Frankenstein.

[Chris K.]

Mel Brooks. How can anybody out there say this guy has no sense of humor. This is the guy who made history with BLAZING SADDLES! Not only that, but also THE PRODUCERS, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1! Squishy, you definately named some of my favorites.

THE TWELVE CHAIRS, another Brooks favorite, is quite different from BLAZING SADDLES as it looks like he made a huge U-turn to create a more "family friendly" sort of feature. In anycase, it was still good.

I can't wait for THE PRODUCERS DVD either, Squishy. Finally, the film in it's original aspect ratio and with some extras. I take my hat off to you, MGM. Now, if they would just release the Empire Pictures films then MGM would be number 1 on my list. At this time, they are boarderline with number 2.

[Chadzilla]

Put my line somewhere between High Anxiety and History of the World Part 1.  I saw H.A. at quite a young age (on a double bill with Annie Hall, uh?) and have pleasent memories of it.  I think Mel hit the visual look and pace of Hitchcock in enough scenes to make it work, although his comedic touch was clearly getting clumsy.

History of the World Part 1 does have a few moments, but they are very few and very, very far between and some jokes ("Where are you from?", "Ethiopia.", "Which part?", "125th Street.") fall flatter than squashed gum.  Spaceballs was a chore to sit through and Life Stinks was a staggering disappointment (although the Emergency Room scene, with Brooks' character getting doped up again and again with Thorazine until he nearly overdoses, all because he's moved from one side of the room to the other once or twice, was a nice stab at black comedy).

Still, I would sit through Robin Hood: Men in Tights (which I likewise have not seen) before either Scary Movie.

[systemcr4sh]

Well, I've liked every mel brook movie I've seen. I've seen most of them, other than life stinks, producers, or high anxiety. Agreed that some of the newer once (namely Dracula dead and loving it) aren't as good as the older ones I still get a kick out of them.

[raj]

HA was very good, I caught the "The Birds" scene on tv recently, where Mel gets pooped on by pigeons.  And the Home for the Very, Very, Nervous is classic.  Men in Tights is alright, as is Spaceballs.  The problem is they are all the same basic comedy, just in different settings.  I haven't seen Life Stinks.

Of course Blazing Saddles is the best.  We had a chili party one time, just to get ready for the campfire scene.

[Dano]

I draw the line after History of the World, but I had the advantage of first seeing it when I was 10 (my parents never seemed to have qualms about me seeing R-rated stuff - they took me to Jaws when I was 6 or 7 and I've been scarred ever since).  Anyway, History of the World is an awfully funny movie as a 10 year old, and that's how I remember it...  although I didn't get Henny Youngman's response to "I'm looking for a pack of Trojans" until later in life.

Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein are the two strongest movies in my opinion, although in the Producers, I thought the scenes with the playwright, the flower child's audition, and the actual play was some of the funniest stuff ever put on film.

While Brooks' later stuff dropped off without question, it's still - sadly - a lot funnier than most of the comedies that came out in that era.

[John]

I haven't seen HA or The Producers, but I like the rest, although I think Dracula D&LI is the weakest.

 SPOILER: My favorite scene in Robin Hood, Men in Tights is where Robin comes in, dumps the deer on the table at the feast and the sheriff gets so flustered that he starts mixing up the order of his words. Then he challenges Robin to a duel by picking up a glove and slapping him with it, so Robin picks up a metal gauntlet and does the same, knocking the sheriff senseless for a moment.

[Flangepart]

I'm joining the club, that puts "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers" at the top of personal lists. Though "Blazing Saddles" has lots of great gags, the ending just falls appart for me. In Y.F, the ending stays within its context, right to the point Terri Gar starts singing "Sweet mystery of life"!
Yee Haa!
Ah,well.....the proof of a great comedy...you start quoteing a gag, and someone else quotes another, and pretty soon, the air is full of memorys of fun.

"Werewolf!"
"Werewolf?"
"There wolf....there castle."
"Why are you talking like that?"
"I thought you wanted me to!"
"No, i don't want you to."
"Suit yer self then...i'm easy."

"Could be worse....could be raining." KRACKBOOM!

"Im hysterical...and i'm wet!"

[Squishy]

Damn, I miss Marty Feldman.

That's something "Dracula: D&LI" has going doubly against it: it's not only Later-Brooks, it's Later-Nielsen, at the point where Nielsen was dragging his once-hilarious "Frank Drebbin" routine into oblivion with him. (Rumor has it that Child Protective Services arrested a mother and father for making their unruly son watch "Mr. Magoo." The kid suffered no lasting damage.)

"Love At First Bite" may have disco (hssssssssssss!), Richard Benjamin, and a foulmouthed heroine who leaves a kitten in a refrigerator (!!!!), but it also has Arte Johnson's fabulously messed-up Renfield (his bit on the airplane is priceless) and George Hamilton made a good Drac.

Favorite scene from "The Producers"--Gene Wilder goes nutzoid when Zero Mostel swipes his comfort item (Zero's facial reactions are gold):

"My blankie! My blankie! Gimme my blue blankie! NnnnnNNNNNGGGGGH!!!! (Later) I'm sorry, I just don't like people touching it...it's a minor compulsion. I can deal with it if I want."

Gotta point out that Estelle Winwood--AKA "Hold Me, Touch Me," who also played the good witch in Bert I. Gordon's "The Magic Sword" and Aunt Hilda in the "Batman" '60s TV series--gives such a fantastic performance in her scant few minutes in "The Producers" (she's gone as soon as the opening credits are over) that it's a damn shame she didn't get a lot more roles in her career.